February 17, 2025
Cheetah courtship usually lasts 3 days, but males can hold the female hostage longer. If the female has sub-adult cubs, then for their safety, the female may take the males away, and after the courtship is over, she returns to the spot where they were together with the cubs last time. Encountering the female who is not in estrus, the males lose interest in her within the first hour, although if one male has previously mated with the female, he may continue to follow her for some time. Olonyok has mated with Nashipae multiple times since 2018. Since she gave birth to the current litter, Tano Bora has met Nashipae’s family more than 6 times, and every time, they have separated within about an hour. It was only on Valentine’s Day that Nashipae and the two males crossed paths for a long time. For 3 consecutive days, the Tano Bora relentlessly followed Nashipae. It is difficult to say whether mating took place, as the cheetahs were active at night and rested during the day. Her cubs, having lost hope that their mother would follow them, went hunting every morning (though not very successfully – only yesterday they managed to catch a gazelle fawn), and by late evening they returned and watched the mother nearby. On the second day, Winda lost interest in the female and was more interested in hunting, leaving the pair several times. On the night of the third day of courtship, Winda successfully hunted and ate his fill alone. In the early morning, we found Olonjek actively calling for his coalition-mate, and when they finally reunited, both showed interest again in searching for a female. As before, Olonjok tried to stay close to Nashipae and actively protected her from the approaching Winda.
Today, on the fourth day, we found Nashipae again in the company of the Tano Bora males, but today she took a very clever way to get rid of them. When a group of Topi ran past three resting cheetahs, Winda rushed to them and she joined in the hunt! Moreover, she helped the males put down a large sub-adult Topi, but did not eat it. As soon as the Topi became motionless, she quietly disappeared into the tall grass and headed in the direction where she had last been with the cubs, loudly calling them. The cubs were more than 5 kilometers away and did not hear the call due to the wind and hilly terrain. Along the way, despite her limp and fatigue, Nashipae attempted to hunt, but failed. Closer to evening, from afar, she saw the bushes where the cubs were hiding from the daytime heat, and stayed to wait. Meanwhile, the males finished their meal and also headed to the place where they were with Nashipae for the first 2 days. We hope that by tomorrow morning the female will be reunited and the cubs will be able to successfully hunt and share the catch with their mother, as they did before. We will keep you informed as events develop.
